


Sweet as Syrup

by weeklyslap



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Fluff and Mush, Good Akechi Goro, M/M, Post-November 20 Interrogation (Persona 5), but it's cute Ig, it's just pancake dates ig, it's soft tho! akechi is sensitive to the cold and ren is like a hot pack and it's really sweet, kinda Beta read, morgana knows how to decorate christmas trees due to his life as a fucking car, promare references, spoiler- they love eachother, they make jokes about November 20 btw, this takes place after the vanilla p5 ending!!!! november 20 spoilers!!!, vroom vroom birches, we might die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21956005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weeklyslap/pseuds/weeklyslap
Summary: Akechi and Ren decide to spend Christmas Eve together at Leblanc, as Ren is in Tokyo to celebrate the holidays. What better way than to bake pancakes together while telling each other how much they love each other?
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31
Collections: Shuake SS Gift Exchange 2019





	Sweet as Syrup

**Author's Note:**

> hey freya :)
> 
> ok so this piece is primarily just a big holiday date and it's kinda fluffy (and so are the pancakes) and it's them binding and stuff and it's kinda fluffy and mushy i suppose?!!?! hope da readers enjoy :pensive:

There was nothing like Christmas in Tokyo.

The cold wind filled the atmosphere, as white flurries of snow fell from the sky. The air smelled of peppermint and pine, and bright lights and stars filled the buildings and homes in the area. Yongen-Jaya was just as festive for the holidays as Ren remembered it to be, with a colorful array of reds and greens around every corner. Even Takemi got into the spirit and hung up some white lights outside of her clinic, much to his surprise (and enjoyment). The second-hand store he occasionally bought from was selling different types of Christmas decorations- ranging from a stand of Santa playing golf to just an assortment of packaged lights, which he gladly got his hands on.

It had been a week since Ren arrived in Tokyo, and the festivity and holiday spirit was in the air. He decided to go back to Yongen for the holidays anyway, as he wanted to spend time with the people who made his probation ‘tolerable’. He missed training with Ryuji at the Protein Lovers gym, and window shopping with Ann and Shiho in Shibuya. He missed being Yusuke’s model for art contests and taking Makoto to popular tourist attractions to ‘broaden her horizons’. Ren did miss his friends, respectively; Friday Gaming Nights with Futaba is still a must, and learning how to garden with Haru is still on his bucket list.

More importantly, going back to Tokyo meant reuniting with an older friend; a ‘colleague’. 

He was glad to be back in Tokyo; more importantly, back in Yongen-Jaya. Sojiro had given him his room above Leblanc back to him for the special occasion, Ren almost melting in happiness upon seeing his attic resort the same as it was when he left it back in March. The ravenette let the breeze from the open window fill his room, allowing the newly bought Christmas lights to rest in his hands as he pondered about the situation at hand. Ren thought about when exactly said ‘colleague’ would be willing to meet up with him. Ren had been texting all his friends, including this ‘colleague’ of his, asking where they wanted to go and when. He had gotten responses from everyone; Ryuji made plans to go hang out at the ramen shop in Ogikubo with him the minute he got the message. It was then that his texts were flooded by past and current friends of his, his schedule soon piling up with date after date. It seemed almost certain that this ‘colleague’ of his was busy during the holiday season.

But as soon as Ren had lost all hope- he got a notification at around 2 AM.

Albeit, Goro Akechi could not schedule a date to save his life. It was still a cute effort to reach out to Ren (and the raven-haired boy will ignore the fact that it was sent at such an unholy hour), and he was going to do everything he could do to make this Christmas a special one for him and his wholesome colleague. It was only after a few minutes of arguing what day worked out, they settled on plain old Christmas Eve; a time you usually spend with family and friends. Ren was honored to have been Akechi’s first pick to spend the holidays with; he might have let out a few tears, too.

Queue the present day, December 24th; after a long day of shopping at Shibuya’s underground mall and of bargaining at the second-hand store, Ren had entered Cafe Leblanc with 4 bags of Christmas goodies and delights. He smelled of pinecones and peppermint, Morgana peeking out of one of the shopping bags with a Santa hat on. That’s how he ended up on his bed in the attic, with his hands burning from holding onto the Christmas lights for such a long period of time. He laid out the contents from inside the bag on his bed, smiling upon seeing the holiday spirit evident in both his room and through the open window. Gentle laughter and bells were able to be heard in the room, Ren noting that it was from the excitement of the people outside, with the bright lights and decorations adding to the holiday spirit.

“When did Akechi say he’d be here?” Morgana asked, his paws playing with the white ball at the end of the Santa hat on his head. Ren smiled as he looked at his work, red and green lights decorating the walls and windows. The tacky yet festive “Santa holding a gold club” figurine from the second-hand store was placed next to a small reindeer on his shelf, the lights from across the room shining on them. “He said at.. 7, I'm pretty sure?” He murmured, Morgana glancing outside a bit out of curiosity. “7, huh…? You sure he didn’t say 6?” The small cat snickered as he laid his head against the edge of the window, immersed in the outside world. “Yeah, I said 7. He’s supposed to get off his train at 6:40, and then walk to Leblanc and be here by 7. He’s not here yet.” 

Morgana chuckled, his tail flicking in Ren’s direction. “Really? Might wanna say that to the little shit at our door.”

Ren dropped the Santa hat in his hand, his head perking up at the sound of three singular knocks at his door. “Holy shit, Morgana; he said he wouldn’t be here until 7!” He began to panic, placing the assortments of decorations hastily on the shelves in his attic abode, Morgana merely watching as Ren slowly broke down. “Come on, you look pathetic.” The small cat purred, jumping down from the edge of the window, onto the mattress, then eventually down onto the floor. “Try... I don’t know.. opening the door first? It’s cold outside, and I swear I saw him shivering. I’ll take care of the room decor while you do whatever you guys do downstairs.” Morgana’s tail drooped as he heard knocks from outside the door once again, encouraging Ren to go and open up the door for the caramel-haired boy outside. 

As the ravenette padded down the stairs, he began to feel his heartbeat more and more the closer he got to the door. It was just his ‘colleague’- no, a friend, that means a lot to him, meeting again on the sacred night that is Christmas Eve. No big deal.

The male ran a pale hand through his ebony hair, exhaling as he placed his hand on the copper doorknob. He twisted it to the right, pushing on it gently. Ren peeked his head outside, spotting a red-faced Goro Akechi rubbing his hands together. “Is it really that cold outside? Where are your gloves?” Ren smiled as he felt his nerves soar through the open door, the sight of Akechi making his heart warm-up, the tension in the air now somewhat of a calming feeling. “I left them at home; and the one day I do, it’s so utterly cold. I feel like my fingers might fall off, Amamiya.” Akechi shivered as he closed the door behind him, exhaling a sigh of relief upon feeling the warmth of the atmosphere. Ren pouted, taking his hands out of his pockets and instead on his hips. “What’d I say about names? I’ll call you Goro, and you call me…” As Ren spoke, the caramel-haired boy remained quiet, a small smile forming on his lips as he looked away from Ren.

“Ren. That’s right- I apologize for getting that wrong.”

The aforementioned boy smiled upon hearing his name from Akechi’s mouth, his wine-red eyes wide as he glanced at Ren upon seeing his mouth form into a grin. “I’m still surprised that you managed to convince me to start using our first names in this type of relationship, you know.” He briefly spoke, Ren’s head perking upwards at the mention of a relationship. The longer they stared at each other, the more unbearable it became, Akechi stifling a small, nervous smile. Ren chuckled, his hands finding their way into his pockets. “Us talking, and stuff- that kind of relationship.” His hand restlessly found it’s way to his neck, scratching on the skin in anticipation for what Ren would say. “I get it, Goro; we are very close, but you get flustered easily, so our relationship not exactly easy to talk about…” Akechi pulled his scarf up to his mouth, eyes darting away from Ren’s looming ones, filled with pride as he watched him hide in the comfort of the woven yarn. 

“Speaking of surprises, though, I went shopping today, and I think I just created the most genius plan ever seen on Earth.” Ren’s grin slowly seeped back onto his face upon spotting a tired-looking Akechi, who was removing his jacket. “I thought your most genius plan was, I don’t know… faking your death? That even fooled me?” The raven-haired boy laughed to himself as his hand latched onto the handle to the fridge, his eyes scanning for the objects he bought earlier that day. “This time last year was a rough time for the both of us, y’know.” Ren reached into his pocket, taking out a small, yellow sheet of paper. “I have a bad feeling about this surprise of yours, though. Please don't pull any sick tricks, okay?” Akechi murmured as he slid into one of the chairs by the counter, his hands resting on the hardwood top. 

Ren sighed as he placed the small paper on the counter, his hand overlapping Akechi’s. He rubbed on the skin as he smiled, his expression warm like the Christmas lights and hot chocolate seen during the holiday. “Goro… I’m doing this for you and me. Us. Our relationship. I want to be able to make you happy, and today is going to be just you and me, us, making that come true.” He spoke with sincerity; Akechi was able to tell from the way his eyes filled with concern, and from the way his shoulders loosened up a bit. He sighed, nodding his head as he gazed down to the paper by the younger’s side. “I- trust you. Ren. I appreciate you doing all this for me- it makes me feel… Warm. But then again, I feel bad, because you spent all this money on us for this one night and I didn’t contribute anything-” Ren gasped, Akechi’s eyes filling with fear upon seeing him concerned. 

“Don't say that, Goro! You showing up for the date is more than enough of a contribution. I… Really appreciate it, I mean it. I want us to just spend this night to ourselves; I make you happy, you make me happy, and it's a win-win situation.”

Akechi carefully listened to his wording, a smile forming on his face steadily as Ren reached his conclusion. It was simple to hear, but hard to dissect; the concept of a date between him and Ren isn't exactly new to him, but to comprehend that he went out of his way to plan the entire night so intricately is what hit it home for the boy. 

“...I understand. Proceed with this ‘genius master surprise plan’ of yours?”

Ren’s eyes sparkled upon seeing Akechi’s resolution, the faint hint of a grin and relaxed eyes setting the atmosphere. “So, the palace is IHop. The treasure is a stack of freshly homemade pancakes, and the palace owner is Goro Akechi.” The caramel haired boy stared at Ren as he tried to find any hint of a joke in his words, but he seemed serious. “Out of any distorted desire… It's the one time I fucked up. We are mentioning this on Christmas Eve. Ren, I think you’ve hit a new low.” He murmured, sitting up straight as he grabbed the yellow sheet of paper from Ren’s side. “And I presume this is the recipe?” The raven-haired boy giggled, nodding as he snatched the paper back into his hands. “Hey! I wasn't finished presenting Operation: Sweet as Syrup.” 

Akechi did wheeze at this remark, actually; Ren did too. 

“You.. you named it..” Akechi bent down, trying to catch his breath, Ren’s cheeks blushed a bright pink as he watched the other boy laughing to the point of asphyxiation over his ‘totally serious’ plan. “Stay focused! You're so immature- this is literally the best plan and I’d like you to treat it as such.” 

Upon finally catching his breath, Akechi had a wide smile plastered on his face, the tips of his ears red from laughing so hard. Ren would've been annoyed, but happiness looks nice on Akechi. “Riiiight. Operation Sweet As Syrup is obviously the best plan you've come up with, which involves stealing my heart. Not literally, though. You guys don't do that anymore.” Ren nodded as he went back to the fridge, taking out the ingredients for what he needed. “That's exactly my point! I plan on stealing your heart by making some of the most wonderful, most delicious, most scrumptious-” Akechi looked at the recipe at a distance, gazing back up to Ren. “Pancakes so good that you need more than 3 adjectives to fully describe them?” Ren nodded, clapping at his response. “Now you're getting it! But they can only be good if you help me.”

Akechi blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was processing this correctly. “So. You're asking me to help steal my own heart. Plus, I don't even know how to cook. I might burn down Leblanc, and Sakura-san wouldn't like that.” 

Ren closed the refrigerator as he placed all the ingredients on the countertop, putting the recipe in his hands. “Too bad, I didn't ask. Plus, you're cute and good at everything, so you're going to be helping me regardless.” Akechi’s eyes widened upon hearing the comment, a gentle smile on his lips as his head tilted in what seemed to be confusion. “What's that even supposed to mean…?” Ren took a metallic bowl from one of the cabinets by the fridge, placing it in front of Akechi (along with a whisk, flour, sugar, baking powder, and some nutmeg). “It means that I need you to mix these together while I work on the wet ingredients. You can't possibly mess up mixing, right?” 

Akechi inhaled, then exhaled, nodding (much to Ren’s pleasure). “Sweet! I’ll work on this, you work on that- we’re acting like true power couple right now.” 

The boy couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, Ren’s comment making his heart swell with admiration.

The pair got to work quickly, the stainless steel whisks in their hands working wonders as they mixed their ingredients respectively. Akechi mixed the dry ingredients the best he could, his eyes gazing at the expertise that Ren seemed to have whilst mixing the wet ingredients of milk, eggs, and vanilla. Although they both had different types of things to work with, the end goal was the pancakes. He doesn’t know that much about baking and the world of culinary arts, but without the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients wouldn’t have anything to mix with later. The end goal was pancakes, but with ½ of the recipe gone, that can’t happen.

So, for some odd reason, this encouraged him to pour his entire soul out into this one singular batch of pancakes.

Ren, on the other hand, has probably cooked more meals than he can count on his hands. Despite this feat, however, subjecting himself to cooking with Akechi set off a lot of nerves throughout his body. Wet ingredients could easily be messed up if you put more of something than the other, but when Ren was with Akechi, he felt some sense of security and even strength. The nerves were there, yes, but their end goal was the pancakes. 

And for the same odd reason that motivated Akechi into trying his best, Ren decided to act the same.

It seemed miraculous that they both shouted “done!” at the same time, their bowls showing that their thorough attempts at mixing and stirring proved to be efficient uses of time. “I’m impressed, Goro! This looks delicious!” He smiled, Akechi rolling his eyes as he pushed the bowl towards Ren. “If you eat this right now, you’ll definitely get salmonella. It doesn't look good, it looks like a safety hazard.” The ravenette chuckled at his statement, Akechi himself standing up so he could join Ren behind the counter. “Yeah, but it’ll look good, like, 10 minutes from now, when we have a stack of delicious pancakes on the table.” Akechi mocked the sincerity in Ren’s voice to himself, the aforementioned boy gasping as he dramatically began to hit Akechi’s shoulder.

“While I preheat the stove, you mix the dry and wet ingredients together, okay?” Ren took a pan from a cabinet by the fridge, placing it on the stove on a medium-high temperature. Akechi took the whisk into his hands, taking the dry ingredients and putting it into the bowl of wet ingredients. He watched as the flour dissolved into the mixture of milk and eggs. The scent of vanilla was present in the atmosphere, Ren and Akechi inhaling, then sighing in pleasure. 

“Damn, that does smell really good.”

Ren giggled at Akechi’s comment, letting the butter on the pan dissolve due to the heat. He walked over to oversee the elder boy as he mixed the ingredients together, whisking until it was a thick, beige-like batter. “Is that okay? I didn't want to whisk it so that it was non-existent- at least, not as hard as you were whisking. You were beating the batter up, Ren.” Akechi questioned, pushing the bowl towards the boy on the other side of the counter. “Oh, haha. You're lucky I gave you the easy job first; you're gonna have to flip the pancakes.” Ren murmured, the caramel-haired boy’s eyes widening upon receiving the job. As he poured the batter out onto the pan, Akechi stood with his hand clamped around the metal spatula. Ren stood by the sidelines (which is really just Leblanc’s seats by the countertop), his eyes shimmering as he watched Akechi slowly regain the confidence he once had moments before, the spatula digging under the deformed pastry in the pan, flipping it on its backside.

Ren Amamiya, after seeing this from Goro Akechi, was absolutely enamored.

“You’re doing such a good job, holy shit! You got this- it’s Goro Season! Goro-don Ramsay!” Ren cheered on for the boy, who only flipped one deformed pancake, while the ‘chef’ sighed in what seemed to be faux disappointment. Akechi gazed down to the pancake, a golden brown color coating both surfaces. He gave a small smile upon seeing his and Ren’s shared creation, a sense of pride washing over him. “Isn’t this so much fuuun, Goro? You like cooking with me, admit it, admit it, admit it-” 

Akechi pressed a gentle kiss to Ren’s lips, the younger boy’s eyes widening upon this sudden surge of confidence. Although they hadn’t tasted the pancakes yet, Akechi’s lips tasted like vanilla to Ren. Letting the spatula rest into the pan, Akechi let his hand intersect with Ren’s hand, the connection warm as they held on tightly. The atmosphere felt tender, and soft, as Ren placed a hand into Akechi’s caramel locks of hair, Ren standing up so he could slide a hand to the older boy’s neck, his hand feeling the skin a bit. Despite the gentle, indirect make out session that was about to unfold, Ren sniffed for a second, Akechi pulling away in fear. 

“Do I... smell?

“No, the fucking pancake! The pancake is burning, Goro!”

Upon sniffing the air, Akechi’s eyes widened as he turned around, seeing as a blaze of orange fire had spouted from the singular pancake on the stove. Ren began to panic, getting out of the chair as the smoke detector went off, beeping being heard throughout the small cafe. Akechi took the toasted pancake and smacked it with the spatula, hoping by some odd means that it would help extinguish the fire. Ren pointed to the fire, which had thankfully begun to die down, with smoke still radiating from the surface. He managed to stifle a small chuckle, while Akechi’s chest was heaving. 

“Did you guys start some wildfire or something? Was it the Mad Burnish? You gotta explain the smoke.”

Morgana prodded down the Leblanc stairs, Akechi rolling his eyes as he focused back on the pancake; the singular, burnt one. “We… got a bit distracted, but it’s okay! We’re making more pancakes, do you wanna help?” Ren offered, handing Akechi the bowl of batter so he could continue. “Uhm, I don’t wanna be apart of this losers’ meeting.” The small cat murmured, Ren pouting upon hearing his response. Morgana gazed down to his paws, then up to Akechi. “Realistically… There’s this light show happening near the train station, and I wanted to go check it out. I’ll be back before sunrise, though.” Morgana walked towards the door, Ren getting up an opening the door for him.

“By the way, Ren, I finished up business for you upstairs. My light show is better than anything in Tokyo.” 

Morgana whispered as he walked through the door, Akechi cheering in the back. “What, you glad he left? Rude.” Ren teased as he walked back to where he was sitting beforehand, the older boy shaking his head in response. Instead, he brought the pan from the stove and put it in front of Ren, his eyes sparkling as he moved the pan around a bit. “Ta-da! Isn’t it pretty?” He questioned, using the spatula to show off the sides of the golden pancake. “If this is how you react after every pancake, I’m gonna force you to come make pancakes with me every day,” Ren promised, beaming as he looked up to see Akechi’s bright smile. “Off I go-!” He giggled, taking the pan in one hand while holding the spatula in the other. 

Ren watched as Akechi poured his heart and soul into the pancakes; watching as he waited for the perfect time to flip the pastry, with expertise hinted in his expression despite this (supposedly) being his first time doing this. The pancakes on the plate only seemed to stack up, all of them looking equally irresistible. Ren handled the batter, he handled the flipping; they really were a power couple in the moment. 

“The batter is done, and my Leaning Tower of Pancakes is complete!”

Ren sat down in one of the booths in Leblanc, the stained glass lamp above him adding a somewhat melancholic tone to the atmosphere. Akechi placed the unneeded necessities into the sink, balancing the multiple plates and toppings on top of each other with ease. Ren would be lying if he said he didn’t look at the way Akechi handled every situation thrown at him with some degree of professionalism; he even handled the fact that the first pancake he ever made was burnt to a crisp. He also wouldn’t be lying if he didn’t admire Akechi’s caramel locks of hair and red wine eyes, and how his muscles flexed under all the additional weight of the plates and toppings. Ren would help, but watching felt so much better in the moment. The older boy came to the table with two plates for the both of them, followed by the stack of pancakes they made. They each picked one from the stack, Akechi adding sugar and syrup on top of his. They talked and laughed for what seemed like forever- at least, only until they got to the last pancake of the pile. 

Their hands both touched, Ren and Akechi’s eyes meeting. They would have fought over who would have gotten the soft, fluffy pastry; only that it felt like a rock. “What a fucking scam!” Ren shouted, Akechi giggling at his outrage. “You know what wasn’t a scam, though?” 

Ren gazed up to Akechi, who had already broken the pancake in half. 

“At the beginning of the night, I was shaking, cold, and primarily afraid. I was nervous about how it’d turn out; whether it’d even work. Yet, you managed to crack my shell rather quickly; as you have done in the past. I’m really thankful for you, Ren; despite us having mixed knowledge on cooking, or how to properly time a pancake to make sure it doesn’t burn, we still managed to have a good time together, and I really enjoy that we did. Think of it as a wayward date, okay?” Akechi gave the other half of the burnt pancake to Ren, who’s lips were parted in shock. “Cheers to.. our relationship. Not as colleagues, perhaps; lovers?” He murmured, pointing the pancake to the sky, Ren staring at the burnt pancake, then Akechi.

“Ren and Akechi has a nice ring to it.”

They bit down on the burnt pancake, a simultaneous crunch being heard throughout the room, then followed by disgust. “God, that turned from cheesy to gross; remind me to never, ever eat burned pancakes ever again. I wanted to surprise you, I instead surprised myself.” Akechi stuck his tongue out, Ren giggling at his discomfort. 

“Well, get ready for another surprise.”

Akechi sighed, shaking his head as Ren grabbed ahold of his hand, leaving the booth they were seated in. “Oh, no. You never fail to surprise me, but I’m genuinely worried now.” Ren giggled as he spoke, dragging him through the hallway and through the stairs. As they reached the top of the stairs, Akechi was still left surprised; a good type.

“Oh, Ren, it’s so pretty!” He beamed, the glimmering Christmas lights reflecting in Akechi’s eyes as he walked around the attic abode; small as he remembers it to be, with the lights and decorations making his heart feel warm. Ren softly admired Akechi’s expression, the older boy’s smile being enough of a present for Ren. Akechi dove into his bed, snuggling into one of the pillows with snowflakes on them. “It’s so cozy in here; the red and green go nicely together.” Ren chuckled as he shook his head, making his way over to the bed, snuggling into bed, facing Akechi’s back. “You wanna know what else goes nicely together?” Akechi turned around in the bed, his expression warm as he faced Ren. 

“You and me.”

Akechi sighed as he turned back around, booing. Ren chuckled upon seeing him like this, snuggling closer into him. 

“It’s really fuckin’ cold, Ren.”

“I know, Goro.”

“...Can we cuddle like this for a bit longer?”

“Yes, Goro.”

“Oh! And, uhm… Ren? Merry Christmas.”

Ren smiled to himself, his arms wrapping around Akechi, bringing him closer to him.

“Merry Christmas, Goro.”

**Author's Note:**

> AND!!! if anyone else reading for this gentle shuake fic liked this work, follow my twt (@OURLLGHT) to find out when i post other works :D 
> 
> i was really glad to write a piece for ShuakeSS2019, and seeing everyone else's pieces and such was really exciting! thank you mods for giving me this opportunity, and for the shuake community being some of the most genuine and sweetest people i think ive ever, like, met. you guys rule.


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